WEST VIRGINIA CODE

§29-25-2. Definitions.

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and phrases have meanings indicated:

(a) "Applicant" means any person or entity applying for a license.

(b) "Adjusted gross receipts" means the gross receipts of a gaming facility from West Virginia Lottery table games less winnings paid to wagerers in such games.

(c) "Annual average gross receipts of the pari-mutuel racetracks with table games licenses" means the amount obtained by adding the adjusted gross receipts of all West Virginia pari-mutuel racetracks with table games licenses and then dividing that calculation by the number of West Virginia pari-mutuel racetracks with table games licenses.

(d) "Background investigation" means a security, criminal and credit investigation of an applicant who has applied for the issuance or renewal or a license pursuant to this article or a licensee who holds a current license.

(e) "Controlling interest" means:

(1) For a partnership, an interest as a general or limited partner holding more than five percent interest in the entity;

(2) For a corporation, an interest of more than five percent of the stock in the corporation; and

(3) For any other entity, an ownership interest of more than five percent in the entity.

(f) "Controlling person" means, with respect to another person, any person directly or indirectly owning or holding a controlling interest in that other person.

(g) "Commission" means the State Lottery Commission created in section four, article twenty-two of this chapter.

(h) "Designated gaming area" means one or more specific floor areas of a licensed gaming facility within which the commission has authorized operation of video lottery terminals or West Virginia Lottery table games, or the operation of both video lottery terminals and West Virginia Lottery table games.

(i) "Director" means the Director of the State Lottery Commission.

(j) "Erasable programmable read-only memory chips" or "EPROM" means the electronic storage medium on which the operation software for all games playable on a video lottery terminal resides and can also be in the form of CD ROM, flash ROM or other new technology medium that the commission may from time to time approve for use in video lottery terminals. All electronic storage media are considered to be property of the State of West Virginia.

(l) "Gaming devices and supplies" mean gaming tables for all West Virginia Lottery table games, roulette wheels, wheels of fortune, video lottery terminals, cards, dice, chips, tokens, markers or any other mechanical, electronic or other device, mechanism or equipment or related supplies utilized in the operation of a West Virginia Lottery table game.

(m) "Gaming facility" means a designated area on the premises of an existing historic resort hotel in which West Virginia Lottery table games are conducted by a gaming licensee.

(o) "Gross receipts" means the total amount of money exchanged for the purchase of chips, tokens or electronic cards by patrons of a gaming facility reduced by gross terminal income to the extent gross terminal income is included in the amount of money exchanged.

(p) "Gross terminal income", as used in this article and as used in article twenty-two-a of this chapter, means the total amount of cash, vouchers or tokens inserted into the video lottery terminals operated by a licensee, minus promotional credits played, and minus the total value of coins and tokens won by a player and game credits which are cleared from the video lottery terminals in exchange for winning redemption tickets.

(q) "Historic resort hotel" means a resort hotel registered with the United States Department of the Interior as a national historic landmark in its National Registry of Historic Places having not fewer than five hundred guest rooms under common ownership and having substantial recreational guest amenities in addition to the gaming facility.

(r) "Historic Resort Hotel Fund" means the special fund in the State Treasury created in section twenty-two of this article.

(s) "Human Resource Benefit Fund" means the special fund in the State Treasury created in section twenty-two-a of this article.

(t) "Human Resource Benefit Advisory Board" or "board" means the advisory board created in section twenty-two-a of this article.

(u) "License" means a license issued by the commission, including:

(1) A license to operate a gaming facility;

(2) A license to supply gaming devices and supplies to a gaming facility;

(3) A license to be employed in connection with the operation of a gaming facility; or

(4) A license to provide management services under a contract to a gaming facility under this article.

(v) "Licensed gaming facility employee" means any individual licensed to be employed by a gaming licensee in connection with the operation of a gaming facility.

(w) "Licensed gaming facility supplier" means a person who is licensed by the commission to engage in the business of supplying gaming devices and gaming supplies to a gaming facility.

(y) "Manufacturer" means any person holding a license granted by the commission to engage in the business of designing, building, constructing, assembling or manufacturing video lottery terminals, the electronic computer components of the video lottery terminals, the random number generator of the video lottery terminals, or the cabinet in which it is housed, and whose product is intended for sale, lease or other assignment to a licensed gaming facility in West Virginia and who contracts directly with the licensee for the sale, lease or other assignment to a licensed gaming facility in West Virginia.

(z) "Net terminal income" means gross terminal income minus an amount deducted by the commission to reimburse the commission for its actual cost of administering video lottery at the licensed gaming facility. No deduction for any or all costs and expenses of a licensee related to the operation of video lottery games shall be deducted from gross terminal income.

(bb)"Premises of an existing historic resort hotel" means the historic resort hotel, attachments of the historic resort hotel, and the traditional, immediate grounds of the historic resort hotel.

(cc) "Promotional credits" means credits given by the licensed gaming facility or licensed racetrack to players allowing limited free play of video lottery terminals in total amounts and under conditions approved in advance by the commission.

(dd) "Video lottery game", as used in this article and as used in article twenty-two-a of this chapter, means a commission-approved, -owned and -controlled electronically simulated game of chance which is displayed on a video lottery terminal and which:

(1) Is connected to the commission's central control computer by an online or dial-up communication system;

(2) Is initiated by a player's insertion of cash, vouchers or tokens into a video lottery terminal, which causes game play credits to be displayed on the video lottery terminal and, with respect to which, each game play credits entitles a player to choose one or more symbols or numbers or to cause the video lottery terminal to randomly select symbols or numbers;

(3) Allows the player to win additional game play credits, coins or tokens based upon game rules which establish the random selection of winning combinations of symbols or numbers or both and the number of free play credits, coins or tokens to be awarded for each winning combination of symbols or numbers or both;

(4) Is based upon a computer-generated random selection of winning combinations based totally or predominantly on chance;

(5) Allows a player at any time to simultaneously clear all game play credits and print a redemption ticket entitling the player to receive the cash value of the free plays cleared from the video lottery terminal; and

(ee) "Wager" means a sum of money or thing of value risked on an uncertain occurrence.

(ff) "West Virginia Lottery table game" means any game played with cards, dice or any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device or machine for money, credit or any representative of value, including, but not limited to, baccarat, blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, wheel of fortune or any variation of these games similar in design or operation and expressly authorized by rule of the commission, including multiplayer electronic table games, machines and devices, but excluding video lottery, punchboards, faro, numbers tickets, push cards, jar tickets, pull tabs or similar games.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2017 Regular Session
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